I was ravenous.
The scene: a scant few days after my return from Paris. All I could think about was a dish I’d had – flaky white fish topped with candy-sweet tomatoes, paper-thin baby zucchini, and crispy-baked bread crumbs, with caperberries scattered across the plate to steep in the most sumptuous olive oil.
I needed to have it. Problem was, I had neither the time nor the energy to track down a fish as fresh as this, and I was really wanting something raw and lively in the hot New Orleans weather. Tomatoes, caperberries, and olive oil were a go. I added sliced blanched green beans for an extra dimension of color and texture.
First, cut up some cherry tomatoes and some pretty yellow grape-pear tomatoes. Use absolutely as many as you like, with whichever cherry to grape-pear ratio you like. In heat like this, who needs measuring cups? Not I, said the fly.
NOTE: Eat a lot of tomatoes as you go. Know in advance that you will be doing this and purchase accordingly so that you are not left with an embarrassingly small bowl of finished product.
Bring water to a boil and cook your green beans in a flash – just fast enough to rid them of the grassy fibrousness that raw green beans have (hey, I have an unusual love for haricots verts eaten straight from the bag, but they need just a tad bit of cooking before being added to this salad). Cut the stems off the caperberries, halve them, and toss those in, too. Drizzle in some olive oil – and in this case, you really want to use great olive oil if you have it – and add a healthy grind of black pepper. You’re done!
Guys, this is so easy, I can’t even call it a recipe. Modify as you like. In hindsight, I feel like the caperberries throw off the vivid color scheme – they look kind of anemic in comparison – but I love that vinegary bite against the sweet lush summeriness of everything else. By all means, feel free to play with this and tweak it to whatever end you’d like… and post about it so I can partake in the idea exchange!
